Patients at Dorset County Hospital enjoy high quality environment

PATIENTS at Dorset County Hospital are enjoying high standards in cleanliness, food, privacy and the environment according to the results of a new national assessment released today.

The Dorchester hospital has achieved excellent scores in all categories in the 2014 PLACE (Patient-Led Assessments of Care Environments) assessments.

The new programme replaced the old PEAT (Patient Environment Action Team) scoring system last year.

The assessments are undertaken by teams of NHS and private or independent healthcare providers as well as members of the public.

The focus is on the environment in which care is provided as well as non-clinical services such as cleanliness, food, hydration and the extent to which the provision of care with privacy and dignity is supported.

Dorset County Hospital achieved a score of 98.52 per cent for cleanliness, compared to a national average of 97.25 per cent, as well as 89.66 per cent for food and hydration compared to an average of 88.79 per cent.

Privacy, dignity and well-being also scored above the national average with a rating of 92.07 per cent, as did condition, appearance and maintenance which achieved 96.48 per cent.

The hospital’s director of nursing, Alison Tong, said: “The PLACE assessments are critical to understanding the environment, nutritional standards and cleanliness of the hospital from a patient perspective.

“We take the feedback exceptionally seriously and are very pleased on two levels – firstly that we have improved upon our own scores from last year and secondly that we have achieved higher than the national average in all four categories.

“The people who have made this happen are our hardworking and dedicated staff. Without their energy and enthusiasm this would not be possible, so many thanks to all Dorset County Hospital staff.”

Comments (20)

This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.

This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.mr commonsense

mr commonsense wrote:
This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.

Exactly. Much the same as when my wife was in there a year or two back. No food, because she was in surgery when the menu cards came around. No food the next day, because the card wasn't left for her - both scenarios seemed to be beyond the capability of the ward staff to sort out. Vomit in the toilets, which wasn't cleaned up because no cleaner was available. And lastly, two patients (my wife being one) in adjacent beds, having had exactly the same (quite serious) procedure. One patient with a prescription for hourly morphine, the other patient (prescription) with no pain medication prescription. None of the nursing staff seemed to see this as an issue, despite my wife being in so much pain that she could barely breath. It was only when a nurse who is also a friend came on duty that the issue was sorted, with morphine being administered (for two weeks after the operation!). Finally, being discharged from the ward in the morning, but having to wait several hours to actually be taken from the ward down to the discharge lounge, then another couple of hours for the pharmacist to issue a prescription. During this period, the pain medication had worn off and severe pain had returned. The ward staff could not issue medication as she had been discharged, and the pharmacist was nowhere to be found.
A shocking experience. However, if you set your standards low enough, it's always possible to meet them :-)

[quote][p][bold]mr commonsense[/bold] wrote:
This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.[/p][/quote]Exactly. Much the same as when my wife was in there a year or two back. No food, because she was in surgery when the menu cards came around. No food the next day, because the card wasn't left for her - both scenarios seemed to be beyond the capability of the ward staff to sort out. Vomit in the toilets, which wasn't cleaned up because no cleaner was available. And lastly, two patients (my wife being one) in adjacent beds, having had exactly the same (quite serious) procedure. One patient with a prescription for hourly morphine, the other patient (prescription) with no pain medication prescription. None of the nursing staff seemed to see this as an issue, despite my wife being in so much pain that she could barely breath. It was only when a nurse who is also a friend came on duty that the issue was sorted, with morphine being administered (for two weeks after the operation!). Finally, being discharged from the ward in the morning, but having to wait several hours to actually be taken from the ward down to the discharge lounge, then another couple of hours for the pharmacist to issue a prescription. During this period, the pain medication had worn off and severe pain had returned. The ward staff could not issue medication as she had been discharged, and the pharmacist was nowhere to be found.
A shocking experience. However, if you set your standards low enough, it's always possible to meet them :-)JamesYoung

I had a spell in the DCH food was so poor my wife brought in food.
I thought the cleaning was poor.
I KNOW IT WAS THE OLD WAY BUT LETS GET ENOUGTH STAFF, , and train others to clean ect in the right way.
I was also in hospital in essex the nurse did not understand or talk English.
They got 50 from spain.

I had a spell in the DCH food was so poor my wife brought in food.
I thought the cleaning was poor.
I KNOW IT WAS THE OLD WAY BUT LETS GET ENOUGTH STAFF, , and train others to clean ect in the right way.
I was also in hospital in essex the nurse did not understand or talk English.
They got 50 from spain.cosmick

My recent attendance at the stroke clinic could not have been a better experience. The clinical care was excellent, I was looked after by the staff, the meal that I was given was OK and while I do not wish to repeat the reason for my attendance, I do know that if anything similar happens, I will be treated well.

My recent attendance at the stroke clinic could not have been a better experience. The clinical care was excellent, I was looked after by the staff, the meal that I was given was OK and while I do not wish to repeat the reason for my attendance, I do know that if anything similar happens, I will be treated well.caapprentice

elloello1980 wrote:
I wonder if they choose what day the auditor comes in, because I struggle to believe the findings.

I suspect they are selective in their data. I mean, i could equally take the comments from this forum and say that 75% of people visiting hospital have a bad experience, as 3 out of 4 people have.

[quote][p][bold]elloello1980[/bold] wrote:
I wonder if they choose what day the auditor comes in, because I struggle to believe the findings.[/p][/quote]I suspect they are selective in their data. I mean, i could equally take the comments from this forum and say that 75% of people visiting hospital have a bad experience, as 3 out of 4 people have.JamesYoung

mr commonsense wrote:
This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.

Agree 100% !

[quote][p][bold]mr commonsense[/bold] wrote:
This clearly is not the same DCH that I spent 3 days in earlier this year.
My observations were completely the opposite, the place was dirty, cleaners cleaned around furniture and were desultory. Food was awful, far worse than in the military and whilst the nursing side was adequate, there clearly are issues there.
It never fails to amaze that public bodies always seem to come up as providing a near faultless service when the reality is far removed.
The assessment that DCH would have had based on my experience is worth no more than a 6/10 and therefore vast improvements are needed.[/p][/quote]Agree 100% !westbaywonder

I wonder whether these reasoned and objective comments are read by the hospital management?
Nurses, cleaners, kitchen staff , other medical personnel and probably a plethora of other outsourced jobs within the hospital are being done on a daily basis by many people . Why when they all have managers do these things not be right.? My only conclusion is that many people within the NHS have management jobs out side their competence and therefore can not manage, either process or people. The system is devoid of the checks and balances that make up great organisations.

I wonder whether these reasoned and objective comments are read by the hospital management?
Nurses, cleaners, kitchen staff , other medical personnel and probably a plethora of other outsourced jobs within the hospital are being done on a daily basis by many people . Why when they all have managers do these things not be right.? My only conclusion is that many people within the NHS have management jobs out side their competence and therefore can not manage, either process or people. The system is devoid of the checks and balances that make up great organisations.mr commonsense

Well done DCH , when I had a partial knee replacement the care and attention was fantastic likewise the food - a good choice and good quality , and continued supply of hot drinks via the tea, coffee, etc trolley .

Well done DCH , when I had a partial knee replacement the care and attention was fantastic likewise the food - a good choice and good quality , and continued supply of hot drinks via the tea, coffee, etc trolley .peskykat

Peskykat and I clearly have different standards. There will be many people who have procedures done and are happy with the service, however this masks the truth and reality of delivering a service 24 hours per day, per year.

Peskykat and I clearly have different standards. There will be many people who have procedures done and are happy with the service, however this masks the truth and reality of delivering a service 24 hours per day, per year.mr commonsense

What have you got to offer Mr/Mrs/Ms Noidear ?
There is much constructive debate on this thread, sadly your comment offers nothing and by the way your post has a spelling mistake. It should be their instead of your spelling of the word there.

What have you got to offer Mr/Mrs/Ms Noidear ?
There is much constructive debate on this thread, sadly your comment offers nothing and by the way your post has a spelling mistake. It should be their instead of your spelling of the word there.mr commonsense

mr commonsense wrote:
What have you got to offer Mr/Mrs/Ms Noidear ?
There is much constructive debate on this thread, sadly your comment offers nothing and by the way your post has a spelling mistake. It should be their instead of your spelling of the word there.

You made my point for me thanks, go get a life instead of moaning about everybody else, many people work very hard in the hospital, all trolls like you do is knock them, we'll Iam knocking you for being a boring moaning --- , by the way I will not reply cause I am of out to enjoy myself and not stay on here checking spalig?

[quote][p][bold]mr commonsense[/bold] wrote:
What have you got to offer Mr/Mrs/Ms Noidear ?
There is much constructive debate on this thread, sadly your comment offers nothing and by the way your post has a spelling mistake. It should be their instead of your spelling of the word there.[/p][/quote]You made my point for me thanks, go get a life instead of moaning about everybody else, many people work very hard in the hospital, all trolls like you do is knock them, we'll Iam knocking you for being a boring moaning --- , by the way I will not reply cause I am of out to enjoy myself and not stay on here checking spalig?Noidear

I disagree with the negative comments made. Although I can only speak of the present time, both my parents are in DCH, and during my visits I have been impressed with the cleanliness, food and drink options, and the professionalism and dedication of the nurses and doctors. Can't comment on the management, but my observations lead me to conclude that either the management are getting the best out if their staff, or, if the management are lousy, the staff are taking on board and exceeding their responsibilities.

I disagree with the negative comments made. Although I can only speak of the present time, both my parents are in DCH, and during my visits I have been impressed with the cleanliness, food and drink options, and the professionalism and dedication of the nurses and doctors. Can't comment on the management, but my observations lead me to conclude that either the management are getting the best out if their staff, or, if the management are lousy, the staff are taking on board and exceeding their responsibilities.35vulcan35

Not the same as we are experiencing either. Whoever is in charge of one of the wards should be totally ashamed of themselves. A simple procedure turned into a life threatening situation due to incompetence of surgical and care staff. Should have been home the next day, but still there 11days later and will be for some time yet. I am not a troll either. I am a wife and mother whose husband is seriously ill because this hospitals standards are way too low. Tax not well spent.

Not the same as we are experiencing either. Whoever is in charge of one of the wards should be totally ashamed of themselves. A simple procedure turned into a life threatening situation due to incompetence of surgical and care staff. Should have been home the next day, but still there 11days later and will be for some time yet. I am not a troll either. I am a wife and mother whose husband is seriously ill because this hospitals standards are way too low. Tax not well spent.lulottie

lulottie wrote:
Not the same as we are experiencing either. Whoever is in charge of one of the wards should be totally ashamed of themselves. A simple procedure turned into a life threatening situation due to incompetence of surgical and care staff. Should have been home the next day, but still there 11days later and will be for some time yet. I am not a troll either. I am a wife and mother whose husband is seriously ill because this hospitals standards are way too low. Tax not well spent.

It's interesting that there seem to be between 6 and 10 dislikes for comments that are not opinions but factual observations and personal experience. Our (my wife and I's) experience is factually outlined in my comment above. It may not be representative of other wards but it is what it is. I'm struggling to understand how anyone can have the audacity to dislike an observation of this nature.

[quote][p][bold]lulottie[/bold] wrote:
Not the same as we are experiencing either. Whoever is in charge of one of the wards should be totally ashamed of themselves. A simple procedure turned into a life threatening situation due to incompetence of surgical and care staff. Should have been home the next day, but still there 11days later and will be for some time yet. I am not a troll either. I am a wife and mother whose husband is seriously ill because this hospitals standards are way too low. Tax not well spent.[/p][/quote]It's interesting that there seem to be between 6 and 10 dislikes for comments that are not opinions but factual observations and personal experience. Our (my wife and I's) experience is factually outlined in my comment above. It may not be representative of other wards but it is what it is. I'm struggling to understand how anyone can have the audacity to dislike an observation of this nature.JamesYoung

mr commonsense wrote:
I wonder whether these reasoned and objective comments are read by the hospital management?
Nurses, cleaners, kitchen staff , other medical personnel and probably a plethora of other outsourced jobs within the hospital are being done on a daily basis by many people . Why when they all have managers do these things not be right.? My only conclusion is that many people within the NHS have management jobs out side their competence and therefore can not manage, either process or people. The system is devoid of the checks and balances that make up great organisations.

My conclusion is that for so many years they have been told that they are victims of pay cuts and incompetent management that they now fully believe it. So in an extreme case a nurse has no problem in saying "I'm too busy to give that patient a glass of water even though he has dialled 999 from his bed". I think this is probably also true of nursing management.
I've no doubt there is truth in this, but I can absolutely proof that it is this victim culture that is the problem.
How: because some wards and departments are consistently excellent. They presumably have the same constraints as others but deliver excellent care. It's a case of "In the shadow of the leader" I think - the wards that have good mid level leadership (ward sisters etc) consistently outperform.
A friend commented that she liked to work on the emergency medical ward because it is the only place that nurses are allowed to nurse. Something is very wrong if that is what nurses truly feel.

[quote][p][bold]mr commonsense[/bold] wrote:
I wonder whether these reasoned and objective comments are read by the hospital management?
Nurses, cleaners, kitchen staff , other medical personnel and probably a plethora of other outsourced jobs within the hospital are being done on a daily basis by many people . Why when they all have managers do these things not be right.? My only conclusion is that many people within the NHS have management jobs out side their competence and therefore can not manage, either process or people. The system is devoid of the checks and balances that make up great organisations.[/p][/quote]My conclusion is that for so many years they have been told that they are victims of pay cuts and incompetent management that they now fully believe it. So in an extreme case a nurse has no problem in saying "I'm too busy to give that patient a glass of water even though he has dialled 999 from his bed". I think this is probably also true of nursing management.
I've no doubt there is truth in this, but I can absolutely proof that it is this victim culture that is the problem.
How: because some wards and departments are consistently excellent. They presumably have the same constraints as others but deliver excellent care. It's a case of "In the shadow of the leader" I think - the wards that have good mid level leadership (ward sisters etc) consistently outperform.
A friend commented that she liked to work on the emergency medical ward because it is the only place that nurses are allowed to nurse. Something is very wrong if that is what nurses truly feel.JamesYoung

Hear hear James. Too many organisations trying to look after their own,
Nurses,doctors,consu
ltants, members of various Unions, a totally disjointed work force which impedes the individual from performing the service they joined to help us all. Maybe the answer could be one organisation that looked after the interests of all staff but that will never happen as well paid jobs would have to go.
One further point in making points we are not getting at the lady who delivers the meals to patients, or the cleaner who doesn't clean. We are commenting on the lack of supervision and responsibility to the patient.
Why do some posters see us as moaners, nothing could be further from the truth. I want the service to be better and that can only come about with a change of culture so that every individual working in the NHS can feel valued working in a small team. Some hope though.

Hear hear James. Too many organisations trying to look after their own,
Nurses,doctors,consu
ltants, members of various Unions, a totally disjointed work force which impedes the individual from performing the service they joined to help us all. Maybe the answer could be one organisation that looked after the interests of all staff but that will never happen as well paid jobs would have to go.
One further point in making points we are not getting at the lady who delivers the meals to patients, or the cleaner who doesn't clean. We are commenting on the lack of supervision and responsibility to the patient.
Why do some posters see us as moaners, nothing could be further from the truth. I want the service to be better and that can only come about with a change of culture so that every individual working in the NHS can feel valued working in a small team. Some hope though.mr commonsense

I stayed in 19 day's after I had my son in july 2013 and couldn't ask for anything more all the staff were really nice and I had no problems with the food but I also understood that they couldn't come 2 me straight away everytime I pressed the buzzer as they had a lot more patients to see and they were very busy.
I think they all do a wonderful job.

I stayed in 19 day's after I had my son in july 2013 and couldn't ask for anything more all the staff were really nice and I had no problems with the food but I also understood that they couldn't come 2 me straight away everytime I pressed the buzzer as they had a lot more patients to see and they were very busy.
I think they all do a wonderful job.Rocco's mummy

ltants, members of various Unions, a totally disjointed work force which impedes the individual from performing the service they joined to help us all. Maybe the answer could be one organisation that looked after the interests of all staff but that will never happen as well paid jobs would have to go.
One further point in making points we are not getting at the lady who delivers the meals to patients, or the cleaner who doesn't clean. We are commenting on the lack of supervision and responsibility to the patient.
Why do some posters see us as moaners, nothing could be further from the truth. I want the service to be better and that can only come about with a change of culture so that every individual working in the NHS can feel valued working in a small team. Some hope though.

Well, i think we can conclude we are in the minority, since there appear to be quite a few people who have been so impressed with their treatment that they've registered new usernames just to express their admiration!

[quote][p][bold]mr commonsense[/bold] wrote:
Hear hear James. Too many organisations trying to look after their own,
Nurses,doctors,consu
ltants, members of various Unions, a totally disjointed work force which impedes the individual from performing the service they joined to help us all. Maybe the answer could be one organisation that looked after the interests of all staff but that will never happen as well paid jobs would have to go.
One further point in making points we are not getting at the lady who delivers the meals to patients, or the cleaner who doesn't clean. We are commenting on the lack of supervision and responsibility to the patient.
Why do some posters see us as moaners, nothing could be further from the truth. I want the service to be better and that can only come about with a change of culture so that every individual working in the NHS can feel valued working in a small team. Some hope though.[/p][/quote]Well, i think we can conclude we are in the minority, since there appear to be quite a few people who have been so impressed with their treatment that they've registered new usernames just to express their admiration!JamesYoung